If you prefer your horror movies to be more Hocus Pocus than Hostel, this new film may be for you. The House With a Clock in its Walls has just dropped its first trailer, and already this film is shaping up to be equal parts creepy and whimsical.
The new film, which stars Cate Blanchett and Jack Black, is based on John Bellairs' 1973 novel of the same name. Naturally, it takes place in the titular house, where the recently orphaned Lewis (Owen Vaccaro) goes to live with his uncle Jonathan (Black). This manor, however, has more than just a clock in its walls — it also has a slew of monsters, mysterious moving paintings, and, of course, oodles of secrets.
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The trailer, with all of its gothic tropes, may remind you of 2015's Crimson Peak. Fortunately, THWACIIW features no incest-and-murder plot points, for which I am particularly grateful. However, it does include lots of spooky whispers, which for sure has something to do with that hidden clock. Who put it in the wall? Why is it there? And what "horrible" thing does the clock intend to do, as Jonathan warns? Guess we'll have to wait for the film to find out.
The existence of this family-friendly horror movie is particularly surprising, especially when you consider the movies that director Eli Roth has worked on before it. Roth, whom you may remember from his role as "The Bear Jew" in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, is also the person behind decidedly not family-friendly horror films like the Hostel franchise, the controversial Green Inferno, and the makes-Pennywise-look-benign film Clown. (Fun fact: Roth produced the very real film after seeing a trailer for a fake clown movie, which stated Roth, famous for his personal brand of body horror, directed it.)
This film, however, seems like one ready for a family day at the movies — or, at least, a great choice for friends who "want to see something scary" but not be, you know, actually scared.
The films hits UK cinemas 28th September 2018. Check out the trailer below.